At one point in your life (or currently), you’ll probably deal with some financial stress. This can be caused by your rising debt, not earning enough money, costs of living expenses, or even money troubles in your relationship.
Whatever the circumstance, being worried about money takes a toll on you mentally and physically, plus it can strain relationships with your significant other, family, and friends. While everyone handles financial stress differently, everyone deserves to live a comfortable and happy life.
1. Find your financial anxiety triggers
While there are potentially many reasons you might find money stressing you out, really look at what bothers you the most about your finances. What is it that if you specifically changed, would make you more at ease and less worried?
Whatever the case, make sure you sit down and really think about “what” and “why” these areas trigger your financial stress. This can be the first building blocks to creating a financial plan for yourself.
2. Learn how to handle money stress
Pending your financial situation or if there are tough economic times (looking at you bear market), you may not handle the stress very well. Look for healthy ways to manage your stress like working out, taking a walk, listening or creating music — or anything that helps you relax and think more logically.
If you need more help, reach out to someone you trust to talk or even a professional to help your mental health.
3. Tackle one issue at a time
Even if you start to put a plan in place, you need to pace yourself no matter how eager you are to make changes. While it’s awesome to be pumped on getting to work, if you try to take on all the issues at once, it can cause you to stress even more.
Instead, make a list of your current financial issues and work through each one in due time. Space out how you work on your finances, otherwise you risk getting more overwhelmed and wanting to give up.
4. Create a budget
One of the best options for you to get your financial stress under control is to create a budget that you will stick to. By no means should you get obsessed with data and spreadsheets as that can drive you nuts!
But by organizing your finances, income, and expenses — you’ll get the overall picture of your financial health. It will also help you realize where to make changes, ensure you are saving money, where you can put money towards debt, and that you are properly covering your expenses.
5. Set realistic goals
Financial goals and what you want to achieve will make a world of difference. It helps you have something to attain for and can help you stay motivated.
Certainly, it’s cool to have long-term and maybe more challenging goals. But don’t only set some impossible objectives like, “I want to save $100,000 by next month.” I’m all for going big, but just make sure you have goals you know are achievable too.
6. Ask for help
Sometimes, financial stress is not something you can handle on your own. Again, there is no shame in looking for support or help. One of the best things you can do to help you achieve your money goals and stay focused is lean on the support of people you trust.
These are people who want you to succeed and can offer encouragement or guidance. They might not be experts in finance, but can help you destress or provide the support you need. This could be your significant other, friends, or a family member.